page_title: Hurricane Fausto (2002)
section_title: Weakening and re-development
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Fausto (2002) / Weakening and re-development
caption_attribution_description: English: Tropical Storm Fausto on September 1, 2002
context_page_description: Hurricane Fausto was a long-lived tropical cyclone that formed during the 2002 Pacific hurricane season. The eighth tropical cyclone and fifth named storm of the season, Fausto developed on August 21 from a tropical wave that had crossed the Atlantic, and entered the Pacific on August 17. Becoming a tropical depression, the system intensified, and quickly became Tropical Storm Fausto early on August 22. Fausto rapidly intensified, and was already a hurricane on that same day as becoming a tropical storm. Rapid intensification continued, and the tropical cyclone ultimately peaked as a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. At that time, the winds 145 mph. Fausto began to gradually weaken after attaining peak intensity on August 24, and was eventually downgraded to a tropical storm two days later. Weakening continued, and Fausto degenerated into a remnant low on August 28 while well northeast of Hawaii.
  Passing north of the Hawaiian Islands, the remnants of the hurricane later began to revive, and had re-developed into a tropical depression on August 30.
context_section_description: Deep convection around the eyewall began to diminish, and Fausto then weakened to a Category 3 hurricane. After quickly dropping in strength to a Category 2 hurricane, Fausto weakened at nearly the same rate as it had intensified. Although Fausto held steady as a Category 2 hurricane for 18 hours, it then began to rapidly weaken back into a Category 1 hurricane, then a tropical storm six hours later early on August 26. Upon weakening into a tropical storm, Forecaster Miles Lawrence at NHC noted "...there is no longer any deep convection associated with its circulation...", although Fausto still remained a tropical cyclone. On August 27, the NHC issued its final advisory on Fausto, although not for dissipation, but rather that the storm crossed 140˚W, and had entered the area of responsibility for the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC). While post-storm analysis from the CPHC indicated that Fausto was a tropical storm upon emerging into the CPHC's area of responsibility (AOR), the storm was operationally classified as a tropical depression upon entering the AOR. With no deep convection remaining, the CPHC downgraded Fausto into a tropical depression at 0000 UTC August 28. Fausto degenerated into a remnant low while located over 800 mi (1287 km) north of Hilo, Hawaii on August 28 at 1200 UTC.
  Although Fausto headed generally northwest while a tropical cyclone, it curved west-northwest after degenerating into a remnant low. Passing several hundred miles north of Hawaii, deep convection began to re-develop as the remnants of Fausto interacted with a tropical upper tropospheric trough. By 1800 UTC on August 28, the low had enough deep convection to be reclassified as a tropical depression while located roughly 635 mi (1020 km) north of Oahu. No further re-intensification occurred for almost 48 hours, and then Fausto became a tropical storm again at 1800 UTC September 1. This regeneration at high latitude was attributed to a temperature anomaly with waters 3.4 °F (2 °C) above normal and a favorable upper-level atmospheric pattern. Although sea surface temperature anomalies are usually attributed to the development of an El Niño, the El Niño had no effect with atmospheric conditions. A mid-latitude cyclone approached Tropical Storm Fausto and caused the system to accelerate northward. The mid-latitude cyclone eventually absorbed Fausto, and the combined system reached the Aleutian Islands of Alaska shortly thereafter.
  Hurricane Fausto's regeneration north of Hawaii was unusual but not unprecedented. The other time this happened since 1966 was in the 1975 season. That time, another TUTT absorbed the remnant of Hurricane Ilsa, which led to the formation of an unnamed hurricane at high latitude. Other tropical cyclones have strengthened north of Hawaii, but the actual formation of one is rare.
caption: Tropical Storm Fausto shortly after regeneration on September 2
exif: {}